It is not everyday that you get an invite to try a specially curated breakfast and that too revolving around my favourite Jackfruit !! While most people find this tropical gem messy and smelly, I have always had love, love and unadulterated love for this fruit. Love it, Hate it but you just cannot ignore it.

I grew up watching my grandmother oiling her hands generously and deftly plucking the delicious bulbs out of the large fruit which was consumed faster than her liking. The seeds were sun dried and stowed away and curried / fried during the off season months to reminiscence the much loved fruit. She would often prepare the unripe fruit like a meat curry and serve it to an unsuspecting me hankering for mutton. I was eager for the jackfruit infused breakfast 🙂 to be served at the bloggers meet.

The specially curated Chef’s menu in the Al fresco area of 12th Main Restaurant, Grand Mercure, Bangalore had everything that would normally be included in a typical Indian breakfast spread starting from smoothies, idly, paniyaram, upma, dosa, puri, appam, kababs, aloo vadas, pancakes and waffles but with a twist.

The twist was in the use of Jackfruit mixed in the batter in a way that ensured the nutrient benefit without the trademark fragrance. A side conversation with Shalini Kuruvilla who tried, tested and curated the menu until she got it right revealed that a 30:70 ratio of jackfruit flour to normal flour/batter is the balanced way to use the product and would not offend the olfactory sensibilities of the ones who stood on the other side of the fence at the mere mention of jackfruit.

Freeze Dried Jackfruit slices is sold in packets by Jackfruit 365 which can be soaked and curried, munched just like that or ground to a flour that can be used in daily meals.

I met some wilful converts that morning who came in with a lot of apprehension and as they devoured the spread, the pleasant smile of disbelief and multiple helpings of idly’s and paniyarams and the queue in the appam counter said it all.

Chef Sridhar Sigatapu and his team from Grand Mercure took very good care of us and every item was prepared to perfection, so much so that the breakfast extended into a sumptuous brunch.The conical idly’s steamed in jackfruit leaves were super soft and the kababs had the aroma of the succulent meat galouti kabab. Unknowingly, I gobbled down half a dozen paniyarams which were fried to perfection. The puris were like a Bengali luchi and no Bengali in their senses can refuse it with some potato curry and better still the not so spicy egg masala. With hardly any space left, I went for the pancake which was soft and just about sweet and with a little bit of maple syrup tasted heavenly !!

I must thank the management of the hotel who very kindly got me a plateful of ripe jackfruit as well which was apparently from the trees in the hotel courtyard !! The restaurant offers a regular brunch spread which is extremely popular and the Al Fresco area was just perfect for the morning.

Jackfruit365 was founded by erstwile Microsoftie James Joseph and while he assured that 365 appended to Jackfruit was all about using it 365 days a year, the tell tale link to Office365 was apparent :). After successful stints abroad he returned to his roots in Kerala, working from his house in Aluva and encouraging people to consider getting back to their roots until one day the Jackfruit Tree beside his window got him thinking and he mulled over his uncle’s words that planting and nurturing a jackfruit tree in the home farm extended life expectancy. He researched on Jackfruits and innovated around its health benefits.

Jackfruit is the uncrowned king of fruits; steeped with nutrients that unlocks the key to good health. Its low calories, low glycemic load addresses lifestyle diseases like hypertension, obesity, diabetes and significantly lowers cholesterol with regular consumption. Jackfruit365 has just made it easy with the freeze dried slices that can be ground or soaked in water to make a curry. The bulbs are extracted 3-4 days before it ripens and processed using a freeze drying technique to retain its nutrients and ensuring that they can be stored at room temperature for atleast a year.

Grab your pack of edible raw jackfruit by Jackfruit 365 now at http://www.amazon.in . Add some jackfruit to your meals and extend a few healthy years to your life !! Reach out for a few slices of unripe jackfruit instead of potato and watch the magic unfold in your body. It is for you to decide whether to pop a pill or adopt nature’s cure with a few helpings of a jackfruit whose produce is largely (80%) wasted.